Hanan and Farah Munayyer.
Hanan and Farah Munayyer.
Based in New Jersey, US since 1970, Palestinian American research scientists Hanan and Farah Munayyer created one of the largest and most pristine collections of museum-quality traditional costumes, arts and crafts from Palestine and the Arab world. The Munayyers co-founded the Palestinian Heritage Foundation (PHF), a New Jersey-registered nonprofit cultural and educational organization aimed at promoting awareness and understanding of Arab and, specifically, Palestinian culture and traditions. To promote these aims, Hanan has presented lectures, costume shows and over twenty museum exhibits in the United States, Canada, and Palestine enhancing young Palestinians’ understanding of their heritage.
In 1990, the Munayyers produced a video about their collection and research, “Palestinian Costumes and Embroidery; A Precious Legacy”, for schools, universities, public libraries, and fashion institutes. The Arabic version of it was distributed to schools and universities in Palestine. In 2011, the Munayyers sponsored the publication of the encyclopedic book Traditional Palestinian Costume: Origins and Evolution by Hanan Karaman Munayyer, which received the 2011 Book of the Year Award from ForeWord Reviews.
From the Collection of Farah and Hanan Munayyer, Palestinian Heritage Foundation,
New Jersey, USA.
For further details, see, Traditional Palestinian Costume; Origins and Evolution, by H. Munayyer, 2011.
For further information, visit www.palestineheritage.org
The Palestinian Traditional Costume of the Ramallah Area:
Of the dozen regional traditional costumes of Palestine, this Ramallah area costume is famous for its beauty and intricate embroidery, worn at weddings and ceremonial occasions. This dress from the 1920s is handwoven from natural linen, handsewn and hand embroidered with silk. The style and cut of the dress, headdress and headscarf is seen in textiles, mosaics, and statues from this area from the 1 st and 2nd centuries AD. Cross-stitch embroidery patterns on this costume range from antiquity, like the S-shaped “Alaq” and “Palmette”, from the thirteenth century CE, and “Feathers”, “Zahra”, flowers and Birds.
The Palestinian Traditional Costume of the Al Khalil Area:
This Al Khalil area bridal costume stitched with Palestinian embroidery from Deir Nakhas and Sumeil, was made in the 1920’s, of indigo-dyed linen and silk, hand embroidered with silk cross-stitch all around the skirt in ancient patterns like the S-shape, “Saru” (“cypress”), chevrons and “stairs” patterns, and decorated with silk panels on the front and sleeves, embroidered with “erk el loz” (“almond branches”) pattern typical of the area’s abundant almond trees. This outfit includes the embroidered headscarf with handmade silk tassels, worn over the headdress (“Erakiyyeh”) decorated with silver coins, with embroidered bands (“lafayef”) wrapping around hair braids. Fabric used for the sleeves was hand woven in the Majdal area, famous fuchsia striped fabric. The square embroidered chest piece, typical of most traditional Palestinian dresses, dates back many centuries.